Earth's Only Immortal Life Form?
 

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February 3, 2009 - Earth's Only Immortal Life Form?

“We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion.”
- Maria Miglietta, Ph.D., Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute

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“Immortal jellyfish,” Turritopsis nutricula, is a hydrozoan that has spread
from the Caribbean all over the world's oceans in ships' ballast water discharged in various ports.
The 5 millimeters-long creature (less than a quarter-inch) is the only known animal that can revert
from reproductive adulthood to its younger self. The unique jellyfish can transdifferentiate to
its juvenile form, seeming to cheat death. This “eternal” process was first reported in 1992 by
G. Bavestrello et al in Scientia Marina and reported by Science News on June 23, 2008.
Are these jellyfish truly immortal? If so, what happens to the Earth's oceans as the creatures
spread and thrive in their immortality? Geneticists and marine biologists are trying
to figure out how Turritopsis nutricula reverses the aging process.
Image courtesy of M. P. Miglietta, Pennsylvania State Univ.

Re: Earth's Only Immortal Life Form?
 

Cool!